Wanna Be A YouTube Star? Enjoy Living A Life Of Poverty

In fact, 96.5 percent of all of those trying to become YouTubers won’t make enough money off of advertising to crack the U.S. poverty line; this is according to research by Mathias Bärtl, a professor at Offenburg University of Applied Sciences in Offenburg.

Breaking into the top 3 percent of most-viewed channels could bring in advertising revenue of about $16,800 a year. That’s a bit more than the U.S. federal poverty line of $12,140 for a single person. (The guideline for a two-person household is $16,460.)

The top 3 percent of video creators of all time attracted more than 1.4 million views per month.

According to one researcher, “If you’re a series regular on a network TV show, you’re getting a good amount of money. Yet you can have half a million followers on YouTube and still be working at Starbucks.”